A giant cod caught off the North East coast has been donated to a top natural history museum to be preserved for posterity.

The 1.5m (5ft) long fish, which weighed in at 30kg (66lb), managed to evade the nets of fishermen for years until it was finally landed earlier this month.

It was put on display at Taylor Foods on North Shields Fish Quay, North Tyneside, and was destined to be dished up in one of the region's restaurants until Newcastle's Hancock Museum stepped in.

Curator Steve McLean explained: "We thought it would be a shame for such a rare specimen to end up as nothing else but cod sticks. It's a very impressive animal and we can use it to tell an interesting story about the way the species has become threatened over the last few years.

"Cod sizes have decreased quite markedly in recent years and it is becoming rarer and rarer to get fish of this size. At the end of the day that's what this museum is all about . . . telling people about the natural world and the animals that live in it."

Simon Jones, 44, sales director of Taylor Foods, said the company had been happy to donate the fish to the museum, even though they could have landed £120 for it.

He said: "We could have sold it 10 times over as there was a lot of interest from restaurants but because it was such a spectacular fish and such specimens are becoming rarer and rarer sights, we thought it would be better to donate it to the Hancock for future generations to see.

"In the old days of the fish market cod like this were quite a normal sight."

Local fishermen said it was the biggest cod seen in the region for at least 20 years. Taylor manager Neil White, 38, said he had been amazed by the size of the specimen. He said: "You don't usually see a cod this size any more.

"I've been here 10 years and I'd never seen anything that came close to it. It was huge. It really was a monster of a fish and extremely rare. I think it's absolutely brilliant that it's gone to the Hancock.

"The number of people who came down to see it when it was here is an indication of the interest it will have."

Cod usually weigh around 5kg and sell for between £5 and £10. Fisherman say they usually reckon they have caught a whopper if it comes in at 15kg, which would sell for around £20.

The cod will be stuffed by the museum's taxidermist Eric Morton, who has preserved hundreds of animals during his career.